Opinion: We’re “tired of the aggressive and fast drivers” at Albemarle and 30th Streets

Joan Schaefer with children waiting to cross Albemarle and 30th to get to her home. (photo by Stefanie Harrington

by Stefanie Harrington and Joan Schaefer

Most people in Forest Hills likely know the traffic issues that neighbors on Albemarle and 30th Streets face, especially during morning and evening rush hour. The intersection of these streets is an especially dangerous spot, because the area is heavily foot trafficked, drivers have poor visibility, and it’s at the heart of cut-through traffic from people speeding in and out of the city.

A lot of young children in the neighborhood walk to and from school, people walk their dogs or walk to the metro and ride their bikes. Recently, a young mother on her bike was struck by a car turning from Albemarle onto 30th Street.

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We’re trying to make this area of the neighborhood safer for everyone and have gathered signatures from each surrounding block of the intersection to submit to DDOT for a traffic calming study. The positive support for this study has been overwhelming. People have been hugging us, thanking us for starting this process and asking how they can help support this cause to make sure the neighborhood sees calmer and safer traffic. We know from talking to many neighbors that they’re also tired of the aggressive and fast drivers.

The petition has been submitted to DDOT, and now we’re waiting for DDOT to conduct its traffic study. ANC 3F and our neighbors have been wonderful in supporting this undertaking, and we’re hopeful for a positive outcome for our neighborhood.

I also agree speed bumps and DDOT calming measures are needed on Brandywine. Despite heavy pedestrian traffic from Forest Hills Park, children, parents, elderly, and pet owners with their fur babies, cars routinely drive at high speeds on this cut through to Rock Creek Park. High speed, reckless drivers also drive on Chesapeake and Davenport on the way to Rock Creek at dangerously high speeds. I think the whole area south of Fesseden and Connecticut Avenue (where a young woman on a scooter sadly lost her life a few years ago to a motorist who did not see her) up through Albamarle and 30th Streets needs speed bumps (on Ellicott, Davenport, Chesapeake, Brandywine, Albamarle) and calming measures to make the community safer for pedestrians, residents, fur babies, cyclists.

This sentence in the original post strikes me as extremely noteworthy and newsworthy: “Recently, a young mother was struck by a speeding car while riding her bike on Albemarle Street.”

When did that happen and was the bike rider injured badly? Was any action taken (either privately, or through an insurance claim, or through MPD) to penalize the driver?

That one incident, by itself, proves that the hazardous environment in our neighborhood is nearly the same as the hazardous environment along the main traffic arteries (Connecticut Ave., Reno Road, Wisconsin Ave., Military Road, Nebraska Ave., etc.). We need a citywide solution that includes enforcement against dangerous drivers.

Hi there,
I’m the young mother who was hit while on my bicycle. Thankfully, I was not carrying any of my children on the bike.

I wanted to clarify that the car was not speeding. The driver was distracted and that is why I got hit. That said, the more consciousness raising elements we can put in place-like speed bumps or stop signs-I believe will help prevent mindless accidents like this.

My injuries were minor so we didn’t call the police. The neighbor who hit me was as kind as could be, particularly given the circumstances. He followed up with me that evening to make sure I was okay and fully paid for my (very expensive) bike repair.

30th Street’s long stretch between Brandywine and Albemarle 30th Street is downhill and notorious for illegal speeding during the morning commute in particular. Sad but frankly not surprised that an accident occurred at the corner there. Huge thanks to Stefanie and Joan for this helpful initiative.

I agree with the recommendation above that a Forest Hills-wide evaluation needs to occur and solutions found for the hot spots identified by the other commenters here. I will add to the list. Linnean Avenue between Broad Branch/Nevada and 30th Street is where I have lived for over 20 years. Speeding on that stretch of Linnean has increased in frequency year by year. Speeders breeze through stop signs, travel well in excess of the posted limits. There is no traffic calming. I have never seen MPD stop a speeder. (MPD rarely patrols this are of northern Forest Hills.). The problem that ends up at 30th an Albemarle starts on Linnean and the streets that feed it to the north. We need a solution for all of Forest Hills before tragedy happens.

We’ve been having similar issues on Davenport Street. Cars routine zoom down the hill between 30th and Linnean, and barely pause at the stop sign before plunging into the park. What makes it more treacherous for pedestrians is there is no sidewalk on this stretch. The repaving makes the road even more conducive to speeding.

The speeding is throughout the neighborhood, beginning at the entry to Linnaean at Broad Branch, all the way through to Albemarle. I’m “known” for yelling at speeders (some of whom are neighbors and many of whom are looking at their telephones; apparently stop signs are merely a suggestion). I have several times asked police officers parked in the neighborhood about the distracted driving/stop sign running/speeding and was not encouraged.

Thanks to Stefanie and Joan for doing the hard work to get traffic calming measures implemented in the neighborhood. As a parent of several small children who like to walk the neighborhood blocks, I support any measures that make the sidewalks and street crossings safer for all!

Newcomer’s perspective:
Lived all my life in SF Bay Area until late 2017. Been here since. Drivers are amped here – driving considerably faster than in the Bay Area, and entirely unsafely considering the road/traffic conditions.

This region has surrendered to cars and drivers – they’re allowed to do stuff that would lose them a license in California. I see those actions every day. Mid-block U turns, idiotic speeds, red light runners…The District and adjacent states are to blame. But things like speed bumps do not make streets safer for cyclists (over 55 years experience convinces me of that). The narrow neighborhood roads should be one way, the intersections should be roundabouts, the boulevards should be fewer lanes for cars plus dedicated lanes for cyclists, scooters, etc. And cars should be banned from Rock Creek Drive/Beach Drive.
For starters…

As noted, the problem is neighborhood wide with some intersections being particularly dangerous hotspots. Speed bumps, unless installed on all streets, simply shift traffic to those without them. And if installed, we’d all have to live with them. It’s common for residents who supported them to later regret it because they have to drive over them day in and day out. Also speed bumps don’t stop drivers from rolling through stop signs. Personally, I love cameras. I’d support stop sign cameras anywhere and everywhere. Cameras are an extremely powerful behavior modification tool if the fines are properly set. It’s when municipalites look at them as a revenue source and get greedy that there’s major public backlash. If the fine is small, e.g. $10-$15 for running a stop sign, driving habits really start to change. Look how a nickel has changed our shopping bag habit. Thanks to Bern for perspectives from California, both on our shameless drivers and on strategies that work. There are some great people working at DDOT who know and understand how to effectively address these challenges. Count me in on supporting solutions.